ClareQuilty

Buying a whole new set of fairings would cost roughly the same. A new gas tank would also cost a bit extra, around 2400 baht.

Wow, astoundingly expensive stuff there. I just figured one could remove all that stuff and spray paint it for maybe 1,500 baht.

Just picked up one of these for 7,000 baht. Obviously the one I got for such a low price is pretty rough looking, but it runs and drives great. Doesn't seem to have anything really wrong with it - just needs a few very minor things here and there, like the seat recovered.

So, I have a few questions for our community:

1. Any general opinions/experiences with this bike?

2. Any experience with having a bike repainted? Is it expensive?

and finally this is the most important one:

3. What if anything can be done about the terrible beating bikes of this configuration (gas tank up between your legs) give to the old - shall we say - 'family jewels'? I mean really - the bike is fun, but its painful too. Any advice?

Guys, I have a lot of motorbikes - its sort of inevitable that I can't get around to all of them. Funnily enough it seems like this particular one is a 'bad luck bike'.

I do have one other Fresh I've kept rented for two years straight, also bought about 6,000, took in about 24,000 in rent, so it all balances out I guess.

Last time a bike of mine 'went missing' it was easy enough to find as the security guards at my work place informed me (apologetically) that they had had the police take it away. This time I left the bike with a friend in Khon Kaen who parked it unused at an apartment building for about a week, and now it is gone. By coincidence it is the same bike - an old Yamaha Fresh that isn't worth more than 5-6k baht by any stretch of the imagination.

Anyway, I'm going to go look into it tomorrow night, and possibly report it stolen to the Khon Kaen police. I plan to just bring the usual paperwork (owner book, passport) but I'm not extremely motivated about it. What I'm wondering is - will the police actually do anything about it?

I used to get a lot of my old cheap used cars stolen in the USA, and they would almost invariably turn up again within a few days - the purpose of stealing such cars was 'joyriding' or just getting from point A to point B, not in fact to sell the car or make money from it.

I'm wondering, why would someone steal a nearly valueless bike in Thailand? Admittedly, the bike would have been easy to steal - I think almost any key would start it or open the seat. If the purpose was joyriding, I suppose reporting it may do some good as it may turn up abandoned somewhere.. if the purpose was likely cutting it up for parts, then reporting it is probably a waste of time.

The other day I was tricked into saying the English word 'doll' in class, and was met with uproarious laughter, while one humorous rogue attempted to explain by gesturing vaguely at my trousers.

Does 'doll' mean something a bit risque in Thai, Isaan, Kmer, or any other language around Thailand?

I've noticed the Thai youths put those narrow tires on their bikes, and I've even had to change them back to standard size on a couple of the cheap Tenas and so forth that I've bought.

The converse seems to be very rare, but I have seen, once or twice, Thais driving around on a Wave or somesuch with much larger (wider/thicker) than standard tires on it. Is this beneficial in terms of stopping or ride comfort?

The crab pinches hard, but then lets go - the most important thing to remember about Thai society. I doubt he's really 'blacklisted' in any kind of permanent or country-wide way. More likely they just don't want him to show his face in that office again.

Yeah on most of these types of clutchless bikes you can learn to be somewhat smooth, but I find the Waves and also the older Honda Tenas seem to have a very 'clunky' or awkward shifter, and they are much more difficult to shift smoothly than the various older Yamahas, Kawasakis and Suzukis I've had (such as Sparks, Freshs, Cheers etc.)

It almost seems like the Honda click-through gearbox is just much heavier duty - very unpleasant to operate, but much more durable (I've had loads of trouble with most of the other brand's gearboxes, but never with a Honda).

On the bright side if you want to buy a good used bike with a clutch, they're almost ridiculously cheap - Thais absolutely won't buy them (most Thais won't even buy a non-automatic, but very very few will willingly operate a clutch).

Claire,

You've got to get a bit more precise.

If I read the OP I decipher that the bike ran OK before the piston/ring job? If this is correct?

No, the bike didn't run well - hence the piston/ring job. It ran and shifted somewhat poorly and had a lot of smoke from the tailpipe, hence the piston/ring job. I'm not the sort of fellow to spend a couple of thousand on a piston/ring/gears job on a bike that's running OK!

But let me update - the bike is back now and running fine. They said it was 'overcharge' and thus blew out the lights (all the lights!). They've apparently adjusted the charger and now everything seems normal, they even replaced the blown-out lights at no charge as they did consider it their error.

I'm driving it a lot to 'break it in' before I pass it on to anyone else. I think I'll also change the oil again in about two weeks at the end of a 'break in period'.

I'm skeptical of blaming the mechanic, as it is in the nature of any 'top end' rebuild that the 'bottom end' may turn out to also have problems, no?

I can't really blame him for a partial rebuild not fixing those parts which are not replaced. And he has rebuilt several two strokes for me and they've been flawless in operation for years after the rebuild.

So he's a 2 stroke mechanic. Cool

Now find a decent 4 stroke mechanic. You say he put a piston and rings in.. but were they actually for the bike in question or just a rough generic size... I have seen it done.. the mechanic grinding down the piston skirt to match the old one...

And as for your question. ... no

Sent from my i-mobile i-STYLE Q6

Yeah he just orders the part for the bike new from the supplier - it comes in a box and fits precisely. He's shown me before..

As for my question - how can it be that a partial rebuild can fix all problems? Its precisely that - a partial rebuild, and thus fixes only those problems located in those parts which are replaced. Typically the reason for the need for a rebuild seems to be either running without oil or extremely high kilometers (in my case it has been the former, mostly), and thus both the 'top end' (piston and rings) and the 'bottom end' (crankshaft, timing chain, etc.) could have discrete problems as a result of lack of oil. The attempt to 'do it on the cheap' by only doing the top-end is not unreasonable I think, but it is certainly no guarantee of success.

(I believe I've got the concept right even if I'm admittedly quite unsure as to precisely what parts are the 'top' and 'bottom' 'end' of the engine - perhaps someone can clarify these parts for me.. for example which includes the 'wrist pin'?)

I'm skeptical of blaming the mechanic, as it is in the nature of any 'top end' rebuild that the 'bottom end' may turn out to also have problems, no?

I can't really blame him for a partial rebuild not fixing those parts which are not replaced. And he has rebuilt several two strokes for me and they've been flawless in operation for years after the rebuild.

Some of you may remember I had a Yamaha Fresh which had been apparently run without oil prior to my ownership; and I sprang for a partial rebuild (around 2,000 baht). I think they put a new piston and rings and so forth.. but left the crankshaft alone. It didn't work out as the bike then wouldn't run well once the engine was hot (coughing, sputtering, dying), so, after a few months I took the bike back and he replaced (I think) the crankshaft and timing chain, and also the part which generates the electric power along with myriad bits and bobs. Total bill about 3,000 baht. Obviously I'm into the bike for more than its worth, but, such is misfortune.

Alas, I drove it one day after this repair and the lights conked out on the way home at night, and the bike wouldn't start the next day (I suspect the generator or alternator would be the most likely culprit here).

I have a second Fresh which was also rebuilt in the 'first stage' kind of way I mentioned above (that one for just about 1,650), and it seems to be running OK, but the fellow who rents it has described the 'coughing' or 'loss of power' phenomenon that the first one had, though highly intermittent. I suppose it could be a similar symptom but with a different cause, but I'm beginning to become entirely wary of four-stroke engines: I've had tremendously better luck with two-strokes.

The sticker on my Honda says to use 91 Gasohol of 10%.

I think Honda have more of an idea than some internet 'expert'.

That means it can tolerate gasohol. But, it doesn't necessarily mean that is the 'best' fuel for it...

91 is fine, just don't use gasohol.

Is not all now mixed with Ethanol, so is Gasohol, at least 5% and 10% E 20%? Except BENZINE for now 45 Baht.

I seem to remember someone posting that Benzine 95 also contains ethanol, at 5% of it's volume.; gasohol 91 and 95 contain 10%.

Anyway 5% is less bad than 10%.

91 is fine, just don't use gasohol.

Thanks for the comments guys. It does seem reasonably powerful for such a small bike (same 110cc engine as in bigger Waves I've had, quite torquey), but definitely very small.

Does anyone know anything about the Honda 'Icon'? - a rather small automatic bike from the last few years. Anyone have a strong opinion pro or con about this little bike? I've just bought one quite cheaply and am wondering about their reputation. Seems to run and drive well, has a 110cc engine that sounds similar to other Hondas.

Hilarious footnote to this story: I had of course ridden a different bike (my Suzuki Akira) over to this bucolic police station to pick up the long-impounded Yamaha Fresh. Well, about three days passed since then and I was sort of looking around wondering 'what happened to that Suzuki? Where did I park it?' I hadn't seen it in a while, couldn't remember where I'd left it. Suddenly, I remembered 'oh its been at the police station all this time. Went back to get it tonight, thank goodness they hadn't impounded it!

Little update on the Honda Nova - I had the mechanic switch the 38-tooth rear sprocket for a 34-tooth - the bike had been too low-geared, quite buzzy. Now its a little smoother and quieter, and I don't notice any downside.

Just got the bike back from the police, and yes, it was just there in the back of the rural police station. And you fellows will never guess how much they charged me: not one thin baht! Remarkable. It even started right up, though the tank was almost empty. Alas the engine's still pretty well shot - after 15 minutes of running well it began to have its old problems again.

I'm going to try to show a link to a picture of that Honda Nova, I hope it works.. and I hope it isn't against the rules. If so I apologize in advance.

http://i.cubeupload.com/ycwag7.jpg

Clare, could you post a few photos of the bikes?

I'm especially interested in the Honda Nova.

Very interesting.

I do have a photo, but I can't figure out how to upload a photo on this website.

I was recently given a bit of a chewing out over posting only bad news, so I'd like to mention the achievement of my excellent mechanic (and myself as a careful buyer):

Two antique bikes of mine are now running and driving like new: One an old Akira I bought for if I remember rightly about 3,500 baht. Finally got the fuel leak and the running issue sorted out, and now the bike's operating just toppingly. Total bill about 650 for the fuel leak fix (involved a rather expensive part with tubes running in and out of it - he gave me the bad old one as they always do) and the re-tuning was FREE, he just kept it two days to drive it a lot and get a feel for it - it really ran so much better afterwards I had to wonder what he did to it.

Next, he gave an old Honda Nova I bought the once-over - this bike I really splurged on, paying 6,000 baht, as it is absolutely perfect-looking, like new, and has only about 28,000 believable kilometers on the ticker. The bike ran and drove fine, but it definitely had something 'off' about it - it seemed like what it was: a bike that had been sitting under some elderly man's house for 25 years rarely being driven. Well, I handed it over to the same mechanic for a couple of days, and he worked his magic - it has come back running just as well as the Akira.

Interestingly, this Nova is a 4-speed 'click through' bike - no clutch at your left hand, and though it is a two-stroke apparently there is a 'gear oil' in the engine which is essentially the same as four-stroke oil. He changed that and with a new license plate frame and the little do-dad the tags go in, the bill was about 200 baht. I'm wondering if this 'gear oil', which apparently does need to be changed occasionally (though nowhere near as often as engine oil in a four-stroke bike), is found only in the 'click-through' style two-stroke bikes or also in the clutch bikes?

@ clarequilty

You do not need to go to police station(unless you want to pay more )

Just head down to impound with green book and cash

PS, Can try to bargain with them,5 out of 10 times it works for long term impounds

Thanks. I'm just guessing that up here in the far upcountry, the rural police station and the impound are the same place.

100 baht per day is the charge

Thank you lemoncake. I'll let you know if that is confirmed when I visit the police station.

I've done the work for you and googled the name. The character Clare Quilty is a paedophile in the film Lolita. Now you know.

I'm not surprised. The whole story reeks of BS.

Renting out 5 bikes a time to the poor farang Issan teachers who can't afford 5000 baht to buy their own POS, give me a break!

The username lacks taste though. Some strange folks on TV...

Guys, guys, the name is a humorous one intended for a literate audience. I can't help it if it fails to please the illiterate and humorless.

Regarding the purchase of a bike - to get a bike in good condition would generally not be possible for 5000, and most foreigners know almost nothing of bikes and even less about Thailand, so they have no access to this 'low end' of the market. I may buy a bike for five or six thousand, but by the time I rent it I've had it fixed up so that it is highly reliable. Their alternative would be to go buy a 'good used bike' at a dealer for about 20,000, and given their lack of mechanical knowledge and their exceedingly low pay, that is a terrifyingly big investment.

In addition, the clincher is that licensing a bike in one's own name is quite difficult (in my opinion) or if not difficult (in your opinion) at least is perceived as virtually impossible by most foreigners.

Finally, they typically don't stay very long (most can't stomach the life or the job, or are simply backpackers roving onward), so there's really no rationale to try to buy a bike - the cost is the same renting or buying, and with buying you are unlikely to be able to sell it on when you leave.